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ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes

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251–260 of 537 posts

Re: ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes

#251

My $0.02 as a response to several comments I read in this thread: I was diagnosed with ADHD in my 40s and got Concerta. My belief is that ADHD is not a disease, nor a disability (even though it acts like one very frequently) and in fact there is evidence that ADHD is an important part of our evolution as a species. The problem(s) mostly relies with the modern way of life and what is expected from the society at large…

I think this is a nice attitude. I would say I do think it's possible to hyperfocus too much, I feel like I might have done that.

Re: ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes

#252

The irony about getting treatment for ADHD is that medical providers make it very hard to get the proper medication and treatment. People with ADHD are horrible at following through and handle rejection poorly. So the worse the ADHD is, the less likely somebody will be able to actually get treatment for it. A lot of people suffer because doctors fear losing their license like so many did during the pain pill debacle.…

Yeah, it's ridiculous. I've been taking medication for ADHD since the 3rd grade. Why in the good goddamn should I have to go in EVERY month for a refill for a medication I've been taking for over 20 years.

Or how every month the brand changes or you get a slight variation or they give you half the pills but double the dosage, where all of these things requires a consultation with the pharmacist and it's always a 5 second conversation: "This again?" "yep. Any question?" "no" "Have a nice day"

For the last few years I think the actual medication I take changes every month. Is it just amphetamine? Just dextroamphetamine? Both (like Adderall)? These aren't the same and effectiveness is at different dosages. And then I got to figure out how to adjust to the specific version and batch as the manufacturing tolerance is within sensitivity range. Not to mention food interactions. And most of this is a solvable problem!

Re: ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes

#253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The DEA put Adderall on its list of the most abused medication, and limits production of it and investigates doctors who prescribe too much of it. This is a response to the problems with the abuse of legal opiates a decade ago- the DEA now takes potential abuse of legal drugs much more seriously and adderall (an amphetamine- it's a cousin of meth) is at a high risk of abuse. Your psychiatrist is trying to deal with t…

> the DEA now takes potential abuse of legal drugs much more seriously and adderall (an amphetamine- it's a cousin of meth) is at a high risk of abuse. I know that I process Adderall differently having ADHD, but I still struggle to see how it's used recreationally. I took it somewhat consistently for over a year for ADHD treatment until I missed an appointment and couldn't get around to scheduling another before my p…

Yes. Some brains react to some stimulants differently. That's the whole reason ADHD can be treated with Adderall.

Re: ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes

#254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (which has no physical diagnosis criteria, just a subjective checklist), An ADHD diagnosis is not just subjective checklist. There's little regulation, but in order to get federal ADA accommodations in gradschool I had to get a diagnosis that took weeks. First I had a professional IQ exam which took 6 hours and highlighted that certain sub-scores were low indicative of ADHD, in particular working memory. Then there…

> Maybe it's just ableism or puritanical views against the idea of stimulants It was very widely abused in my college days. There was also a (IMHO justified) concern over whether it was being over-prescribed as a way to deal with problematic behavior in children, rather than actually putting in the effort as a parent or medical professional to get to the root of the issue. With that said, I do know people who genuine…

I found the stronger stimulants robbed me of joy in life, I became very productive though. A good worker. Wellbutrin prevents my catastrophic thinking and feelings of being overwhelmed. I still miss meetings and procrastinate, but I also still whistle a tune while watching the sunlight pass through the leaves of a tree. That stopped on the strong stuff. All that anectdata aside, some people need the strong stuff, but many more are using it to fit perfectly into a world that no one should have to fit into. Antidepressants cause a similar problem, where people put up with situations they shouldn't. Just because the stimulants allow you to handle a certain amount of stress or work, doesn't mean you should.

Re: ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes

#255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> (which has no physical diagnosis criteria, just a subjective checklist), An ADHD diagnosis is not just subjective checklist. There's little regulation, but in order to get federal ADA accommodations in gradschool I had to get a diagnosis that took weeks. First I had a professional IQ exam which took 6 hours and highlighted that certain sub-scores were low indicative of ADHD, in particular working memory. Then there…

> There's little regulation, but in order to get federal ADA accommodations in gradschool I had to get a diagnosis that took weeks.

That's because you wanted to get something from via the ADA. If you just go to a website, do a questionnaire with _very_ leading questions (that you can do anonymously several times to make sure you get the desired result), book a meeting, and then you can walk out of your meeting with a prescription. Pending a mandatory drugs test, of course.

Ask me how I know. And I actually _do_ have clinically diagnosed ADHD, so I didn't need to fake anything.

Re: ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes

#256

Psilocybin “fixed” my ADHD right up.

With continuous use or a one-time dose? What was the dosage?

A one time, 5g “heroic dose” did the trick for me. I’ve had a few more trips at that dose since that initial one but mostly because there’s a whole lot for me to explore in that space, rather than me trying to “cure” something.

It took me as a real surprise when, after that first trip, all my ADHD symptoms simply vanished, never to reappear.

Re: ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes

#257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They issue licenses for making the drugs and getting the raw materials to make them. The process is inflexible at best and if manufacturer A hits their quota, they can’t get additional raw materials, even if manufacturer B has excess. Like most things associated with drug criminality, the rules are stupid and capricious.

And this has nothing to do with insurance, but does have to do with government bureaucracy negatively impacting people getting treatment for an illness.

Health insurance prior authorization policy, approved medication lists, and network pharmacy policies complicate maintaining continuous access during the DEA-imposed artificial shortage by complicating transferring prescriptions to pharmacies that have supply available and transferring prescriptions to substantially-equivalent drugs sold by different manufacturers.

Re: ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes

#258

The irony about getting treatment for ADHD is that medical providers make it very hard to get the proper medication and treatment. People with ADHD are horrible at following through and handle rejection poorly. So the worse the ADHD is, the less likely somebody will be able to actually get treatment for it. A lot of people suffer because doctors fear losing their license like so many did during the pain pill debacle.…

> because doctors fear losing their license like so many did during the pain pill debacle. Which is understandable after the monumental pain and damage oxy caused to families everywhere.

Only if you myopically assume all drugs have equal abuse potential, addiction potential, and negative consequences of abuse. The US federal drug schedule is a clown show.

Re: ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes

#259
post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wouldn’t be surprised if this study were funded by some pharmaceutical lobbying shell organization. Funding info is at the bottom of the article, the project was primarily funded by the Swedish government.

Also in that section: > LZ is supported by ìShizu Matsumuraîs Donation (2024-02228) and KI Research Grants (024-02570). LL was supported by the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (20230452), the Söderström König Foundation, and Fredrik och Ingrid Thurings Stiftelse. BD was supported by a grant from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). SC, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) research pr…

The fear over a paper, which can be studied and evaluated, is much higher than it need be. It would be something else if it were a media release, advertisement, or an actual compound being lauded.

Re: ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes

#260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, it's ridiculous. I've been taking medication for ADHD since the 3rd grade. Why in the good goddamn should I have to go in EVERY month for a refill for a medication I've been taking for over 20 years.

Not to make light of your situation, but women taking birth control have been in this situation forever. It is only recently that over the counter birth control and/or three month allotments have been available.

You have to go into a doctor every month and get a new paper prescription for hormonal birth control? In the US? 20 years ago, my wife was able to do an electronic prescription, and it automatically refilled at the pharmacy every month.

For stimulants, they can't do an electronic refill, so I literally had to go to my doctor, get a paper prescription, then drop it off at the pharmacy, then come back a few days later (because it's usually backordered) every 30 days.

Some doctors would write 3 prescriptions with a "not before" date, but others were not willing to do so.

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